


I Leave In A Week

by randomramblesff



Series: But I Let You Go [1]
Category: Community (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fanfiction, Friendship, Post-Finale, Romance, Washington DC, annie's internship, community fanfic, community tv, jeff x annie, season 6
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-31
Updated: 2015-10-31
Packaged: 2018-04-29 05:04:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5116616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/randomramblesff/pseuds/randomramblesff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(PART ONE OF THE "BUT I LET YOU GO" SERIES) "I leave in a week, I'l be in DC all summer" is what Annie said when she entered the bar, exclaiming she'd been accepted for an internship at the FBI. What happened in the week before Jeff dropped her and Abed off at the airport though? A post-finale set during "Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television" S6E13 of Community. Starting on a Wednesday as the episode aired on a Tuesday (I believe...)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Wednesday

**Author's Note:**

> This is just the week leading up to Annie and Abed's departure, a week of missing scenes if you will, all surrounding Jeff & Annie.  
> Starting on a Wednesday as the episode aired on a Tuesday (I believe...) with Chapter 1 - Wednesday, being the longest.

Annie awoke as usual in her room in the 303 apartment, her hair slightly more tousled than usual before she brushed it and headed to the kitchen to make a bowl of sugar filled cereal. As she scooped the first spoonful up towards her lips though, she paused, the metal cool on the inside of her mouth… everything came back. _Jeff kissed me yesterday…_ her thoughts quickly switched as Britta came in from her slumber on the sofa her hands reaching up and her mouth gaping open in a wide yawn.

“You’re up early Britta…” Annie said as she sat at the table, scooping some more milk inside her mouth. Okay, perhaps the thought hadn’t quite vanished. _Was it really a goodbye?_ Thoughts ran through her mind, making her zone out so she’d completely ignored the fact that Britta was still trying to have a conversation with her.

“Err… earth to Annie? You tell me I’m up early and then you fall asleep whilst I’m talking.” Britta sat down opposite Annie, a glass of water and a tablet in hand. Annie quickly refocused shooting Britta a smile across the table.

“Yeah, sorry, I just… was thinking.” Britta squinted at her in suspicion, downing her water in one.

“How much of your stuff are you packing anyway? I mean… I know I said I’d like your room whilst you’re away but if you’re coming back… I just want to know, just in case there is a possibility that you’re secretly going away forever again.”

“What do you mean by _again?_ Pretty sure I’ve never ‘gone away forever’ Britta.” Annie said, standing up and placing her bowl and spoon down in the sink.

“Err, okay but you almost did. Jeff told me about it… you were going to go off with Vaughn well you know, before all _that_ happened.” Britta said, rolling her eyes suggestively.

Annie turned the taps on as Britta spoke, only just realising she’d turned the hot on full, squirming back at the heat as Jeff’s name was mentioned. Britta frowned in confusion, pushing away from her chair and returning to her ‘bedroom’.

 _What’s going to happen this week before Abed and I leave?_ Annie thought as she washed up her breakfast. The question really was, what were Jeff and Annie actually saying goodbye to? Although Annie had seemed calm and collected when Jeff had finally admitted to his feelings, of course deep down she was becoming rather flustered and her mind had come up with all sorts of explanations…

Firstly – if she hadn’t have said anything during that moment, Jeff would have never have kissed again, _probably._ After opening up, she needed him to have some form of closure. She had to be honest with herself and admit that she’d been starting to let go of him _herself_ after all of this time. How was she supposed to hold on when he was sending so many mixed messages, _all_ the time? It all started to get confusing during the second year of Greendale. Feelings started to arise from the surface for both of them, even if they weren’t serious and even if they were just both physical attractions or ‘crushes’.

He’d got jealous over her spending time with Rich and then completely denied everything a few months later. For Annie everything just went hazy after that… everything was so blurred but it was obvious from both sides that something _was_ going on.

Secondly – perhaps they were just saying goodbye to all of that confusion? Jeff had let Annie go because he knew how much Annie had in front of her… how could he hold her back? But then again, he’d only admitted these feelings when she was leaving. It had taken her feet getting out of the door for him to get the guts to just say _something._

And then there was the other way of looking at things – that they genuinely were saying goodbye. But for some reason, Annie didn’t think that was possible. How could you go from having such a close friendship (and/or relationship) with somebody for six years, to just wishing them goodbye forever?

So Annie thought about it over and over again, as much as she could within the hours after the events, and she realised perhaps the second option was more realistic… okay Jeff only opening up to things _now_ wasn’t perfect, but it left the door open, even just a little bit.

* * *

 It took Annie far longer than usual to scrub just one bowl and a spoon but as she dozed away in thought once again, of course Abed has used her unusual silence and behaviour to quickly chomp down on some energy for himself, sliding his own bowl into the bubbly abyss.

Britta pulled Abed aside in the living room, keeping her voice down.

“Is Annie acting _strangely_ to you?” Britta asked, her eyes still on a very distant looking Annie.

“Hmm… maybe. But let’s be honest, last night was pretty eventful. In a week’s time me and her both will be starting our new lives so there’s probably a lot going through her mind, just like me. I think she’ll be okay, just act normal. She likes normal.” Abed answered reassuringly, brushing past Britta back into his bedroom. Britta tilted her head, returning to her couch that she was plumping up.

* * *

Annie finally finished up in the kitchen, waltzing back into her bedroom and clicking the door behind her shut. She lay flat back on her bed, soon after curling up into the foetal position, wondering what to do with her day. She knew she had packing to do, but for some reason her usual organised Annie self just didn’t feel up to it, so she pulled her phone from the bedside whilst settling further into her pillow and just stayed there for a while, until a message pinged up on her phone.

 _JEFF: _ Hey – if you need any help with packing by the way, give me a shout, Jeff.

Annie sat up, bending her knees and resting her chin on them as she read every word through. She wasn’t really sure how to reply, but it was a start that he was messaging normally.

 _ANNIE:_ Thanks, will do :)

She wondered whether the smiley face seemed too much but then she realised she was over thinking as always.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jeff was also sat at home on his bed, chewing the inside of his lip as his motionless hand rested on his hip, his messages staring back at him. He couldn’t help but think of Annie’s smile of possibility from last night though, when she’d suggested that ‘Season 7’ was out of their hands. He smiled to himself, locking his phone and sliding it into his pocket, pushing himself to actually get up and do something.

After months of his attention mainly on Greendale, it was the summer and he had virtually nothing to do and now two of the most important people in his life were going to leave him… _I’m going to drive myself insane,_ he thought. Never once did he imagine that having Abed around would probably make him feeler saner… but not a lot had really planned out the way he’d hoped.

He’d started the study group to get in Britta’s pants after all, and now he was pretty confidently in love with a girl who was around fifteen years younger and about fifteen years wiser in some respects. He felt as if he was back outside the study room when he was getting riled up over Rich… _this cannot be happening!_

* * *

 Annie finally kicked herself off of her bed too after scrolling through endless tweets of completely pointless information. She thought back to Britta’s question – how much was she going to pack? She realised that the most important things to take with her where the things that felt like home. _Jeff_ she thought, quickly shaking her head at the ridiculousness of the fact that she’d actually just thought of him. She blew out quickly, refocusing.

“No, you’re fine. It’s dealt with, it’s going to be cool. Why wouldn’t it be? I mean, you did what you had to do, you’ll be gone within a week and you’ll forget about it. Easy. Done. Dusted. Double-done and dusted.” Annie whispered to herself as she packed a few tiny stuffed teddies into a box. But then her fingers glided over a silver frame…

It was picture from ages ago, _years_ ago in fact of the whole group together after the “Pop 'n' Lock-a-thon”. Her arms were around Jeff in pride, Shirley cosied up to him too. She sighed, her bottom lip wavering a bit as she traced her fingers across the glass, placing it gently into the now cushioned box. They hadn’t really taken that many group pictures of the years but of the very few they had, it was definitely her favourite.

* * *

 Jeff decided to take himself on a run as he usually did when things were on his mind. He switched into his running gear (a tight fitting tank top and some shorts) before plugging in his headphones and jogging down the streets. He’d barely even noticed but as he winded his way around the neighbourhood, a sprinkle of rain started to descend on him. He zoned out, letting the cool breeze and rushing surroundings take him away, clearing his mind of thoughts.

After a few blocks, he realised that he’d actually ran a lot further than usual and that if he just went a few blocks further, he’d be there, at the 303 apartment. _Probably shouldn’t intrude,_ he thought, puffing away in tiredness.

But then the rain started getting heavier, and with every step he took he was getting further and further away from his apartment and closer to _hers,_ which wasn’t _just_ hers, he reminded himself. He decided he’d have to get a cab if he wanted to get home - he was officially worn out and he was definitely not prepared for this amount of rain that was now pouring down on him.

So he turned the corner and he was on the street, Annie’s old car on a few metres away. He looked up with squinted eyes, water dripping down his face at her window, his teeth clenching.

_Turn. Around._

But of course he didn’t. He started to jog, his soaked through trainers splashing up the steps to the building, his cold finger pressing against the buzzer.

* * *

 “Who is it?” Annie called out from her bedroom to Abed who was now making his favourite buttered noodles for lunch. Abed held down the buzzer on the inside of the door and held his mouth to the wall, trying his hardest to hear through the torrential rain that was disguising the guest’s voice.

“Hello?” Abed asked, his face in confusion.

“Hey, yeah, it’s me, Jeff. Can you please let me in, it’s really rainy if you can’t tell?” Abed relaxed a little, turning to look at the window, nodding as he saw the downpour. He pressed the button on the wall before unclipping the lock on the door.

“Well, who was it?” Annie said, peering out from her bedroom.

“Oh just Jeff.” Abed said, smiling a little.

“Oh.” Annie replied, her mouth mimicking a perfect oval shape. _Why…?_ Annie thought, propping her nearly full box down on her bed. She smoothed down her hair and then quickly stopped herself realising how silly she was acting. She literally pushed her door back open as Jeff did the same thing, stepping back and forth on the welcome mat whilst shaking his hair off a little. _Why…?!_ Annie thought again, her eyes bulging slightly as he stood there in all of his muscular and rainy wet glory.

She edged closer into the living room, waving her hand slightly and smiling oddly as he raised his eyebrows in recognition of her presence.

“Why are you here at such a weird and random time?” Britta piped up, a bag of laundry in hand.

“Ah you know, just dropping by. Didn’t just get stranded during a monsoon or anything.” Jeff joked, catching a towel that Abed had thrown in his direction. He rolled it up, pulling it both ways around his neck, making himself look slightly sportier than he really was. He slipped his trainers off and welcomed himself in, slouching down in an arm chair.

“Do you want anything?” Annie called as she bent down to the fridge, her stomach growling slightly with hunger at the smell of buttered noodles and slightly at the fact that Jeff was in the room.

“Err, I could do with some water… which is ironic seeing as I could have just opened up my mouth outside.” Jeff said, tilting his head back at Annie, opening his mouth wide open and smiling a little at her. She stood up from the fridge and smiled back, a bottle of water in hand.

“Here you go.” Annie placed the bottle into Jeff’s outstretched hand, slouching down into the couch slightly further away. Jeff gulped back the water as she fidgeted with her hoodie, hoping that Abed or Britta would come in and play entertainer.

“So why were you running around here exactly?” Britta said, leaning up against the wall, her legs crossed over at her ankles.

“I got so far, almost drowned and then realised that you guys were literally just around the corner so I thought I’d pop by. Might be here for a while though, not sure I can be bothered to run back in that.” Jeff said, tilting his bottle towards the window.

“Why don’t you just call a cab? Or Annie can drive you home in her car?” Britta suggested, completely oblivious to the fact that that was the worst possible suggestion for the current situation. Jeff gulped, looking towards Annie but quickly stopping himself. _Be careful Winger,_ he thought.

“I’ll probably call a cab, but I might wait around. Unless you’re all planning on kicking me back out onto the street anytime soon.”

“Nah, you can stay. We’re not doing much anyway, Annie’s packing; I was going to but then I realised that it won’t take me long seeing as most of my stuff is purely for aesthetic purposes so I’ll probably leave most of it behind. I need to start evolving into my new character.” Abed said as he sat himself down in the chair next to Jeff, tilting towards him with his own water bottle. Jeff gulped slightly at the words ‘Annie’s packing’.

“I thought you weren’t looking through that metal lens anymore?” Jeff said slightly confused.

“I’m not, but I still have to have character. If I’m going to work on a TV show, I need to identify my purpose. It’s like when we first met, when we both realised what our values were… I’m going to meet new people and they need to understand my values too, just outside of Greendale, and that involves choosing a new aesthetic – a new costume if you will.” Abed said, positively, his face brightening at the thought.

“Isn’t your value just whatever they’re paying you for?” Jeff asked, thinking slightly more logically. Abed shrugged, looking back towards Britta and Annie. Annie sighed, standing up and stretching slightly. Jeff watched her, keeping his expression straight, his bottle of water pressed up against his lips. _Her lips…_ he thought, his eyes bulging in embarrassment.

It wasn’t a kiss like that though. Yes, her lips had felt perfect, and yes he found it extremely hard to not just hold her there for longer but he had to stop thinking of it that way. He had to start thinking of it as a stepping stone. Whether that stepping stone led anywhere, Jeff didn’t know, but he knew he wouldn’t find out anytime soon, so he needed to distract himself. _Should have turned around_ , he thought again, whacking the now empty bottle against his forehead.

“I think I might I just go finish up this one box, seeing as it’s pretty much full. Not like me to leave a job half finished!” Annie giggled awkwardly as she scampered off into her room, shutting the door firmly behind.

* * *

 

She stood with her back to the door, her mind racing once again. _Why is he here? Why now? Couldn’t he had just waited a day or two more?_ She steadied her breathing as she did indeed finish up her box, picking at the end of the tape with her nails.

Jeff pulled out his phone, wiping the screen slightly to flick away a few droplets of water. He quickly typed something away before Abed or Britta noticed his lack of social manners.

 _JEFF:_ Need any help in there?

_Of course she doesn’t, idiot. She can tape up a box on her own._

_ANNIE:_ All good!

Annie quickly typed back, confused as to why he’d messaged her from the other room. She ignored it though, just taking it as his way of caring or trying to smooth over the bumps, whilst writing neatly on the cardboard.

It would be a while until the “Sentimental Bits and Bobs” arrived at her place in DC (a small shared apartment just a short ten-minute walk from her internship) but if she knew it would be all packaged up carefully by her own hands, that’s all that mattered.

She returned to the others, rubbing her hands as she walked.

“Buttered noodles? Buttered noodles? Buttered noodles?” Abed asked, pointing towards Britta, Jeff and Annie. Jeff shrugged back in agreement allowing himself to ‘indulge’ after his slightly-longer-than-expected run.

He got up and scratched the back of his head, sliding into a chair at the table, leaning back to watch the three of them do their thing in the kitchen. He smiled as Annie plated up the food, Abed closed up the oven and Britta well, just ‘Britta’d’ the moment. He swivelled back around as Annie started walking over, his feet bouncing under the table.

“Bon appetit!” Annie teased, as she sat beside Abed, across from Britta, just slightly tucked out of sight from Jeff. He tucked in as much as he could, his taste buds becoming slightly bored after just a few bites.

“How do you guys eat this stuff?” Jeff coughed slightly, bracing himself for another forkful.

“You get used to it.” Abed replied.

 _Yeah, you do…_ Jeff thought, but not about buttered noodles of course. About a certain something (or someone) else that he’d become ‘used to’ by now. _Annie_.

* * *

 

After lunch, they all sat back down around the TV to watch a movie of Abed’s choosing as the rain began to settle. Jeff had resisted it throughout lunch and throughout the first half of the film, but he just had to ask her…

 _JEFF:_ You okay? Seem a little quiet :-/

 _ANNIE:_ Yup.

 _JEFF:_ You don’t usually ‘yup’.

 _ANNIE:_ I’m fine.

 _JEFF:_ Just checking.

 _ANNIE:_ All good.

 _JEFF:_ *thumbs up emoticon*

 _ANNIE:_ *thumbs up emoticon*

Jeff locked his phone back down and concentrated on the movie, but he couldn’t help but feel as if Annie’s eyes were burning through him and he was right to think so. After messaging each other quickly, Annie watched him, wondering what he was thinking… wondering what he was hoping… whether he really deep down wanted her to stay or if he was okay with seeing her go.

 _Don’t be stupid, of course he’s not okay with seeing you go. He admitted it yesterday…_ she shrugged, shuffling in her seat, her eyes staying put, which perhaps wasn’t the best idea as they were both now looking each other in the eyes. Jeff clenched his teeth as she looked back, her eyebrows titling inwards just a millimetre of a degree as if to ask… _what if?_

Jeff gulped and looked away, knowing that this wasn’t what they needed. They needed to get through this week with the same optimism they’d left the study group with.

Season 7 was out of their hands after all…


	2. Thursday

It was another long day for both Annie and Jeff. They hadn’t really spoken to each other yesterday other than the rather brief text messages, and the goodbye didn’t exactly reassure either of them.

Jeff had left after the movie, he’d backed out of the apartment, saying goodbye to Abed and Britta whilst Annie hung behind them, looking to the floor. He stalled, waiting to see if she’d look up but she didn’t so he backed out and joined the puddles of the sidewalks. He ran back home, realising that his attempt of clearing his thoughts had one hundred percent failed and now all he could think about was her. And it didn’t help that now even Britta was picking up on the fact that something wasn’t right the day before…

 _BRITTA:_ Did Annie seem ‘off’ to you, yesterday?

 _JEFF:_ Why…?

 _BRITTA:_ She just seemed a little distracted… nothing happened in the study room, did it?

 _JEFF:_ No, I told you… we were just saying goodbye to it.

 _JEFF:_ For Season 6.

 _BRITTA:_ Hmm… okay, well I asked Abed and he said it was probably to do with leaving, which sounds pretty accurate.

 _JEFF:_ Shouldn’t you know, seeing as you’re a psych major and all?

 _BRITTA:_ I just wanted to ask you because you seem to be good at these things.

 _JEFF:_ I do?

 _BRITTA:_ You just know Annie in this weird way. I don’t know, it’s probably nothing. Gtg anyway, shift starts soon.

 _JEFF:_ Have fun Shrinky.

 _BRITTA:_ Shrinky? Really? Just because you ‘pitched’ I should become a shrink?

 _JEFF:_ You should be grateful I even imagined you that opportunity.

 _BRITTA:_ You suck.

 _JEFF:_ Yup.

And now, a full day later after seeing her again, his mind was cluttered. His first instinct was to text her again, and really check if everything was okay. _She’s probably regretting this kiss,_ he thought as he deleted the message he’d drafted up. _But then maybe it would help to talk…_ he typed again. _But then also she has the ability to comfort herself and Britta’s already checking up on her so…_ delete. _But Britta can’t talk about what happened…_ type. _Maybe she’s just hormonal or something weird like that_ …delete. _If she is, she’d like company though…_ type. _But Britta’s a woman, she’d know if something was up…_ delete. _What if I just say hello?..._ type. _It might be too soon…_ delete.

 _Oh just type the two darn letters…_ type.

 _JEFF:_ Hi

 _ANNIE: _ Hey

_Oh well she replied almost immediately…_

_JEFF:_ What are you up to?

 _ANNIE:_ Packing, and now texting you. You?

 _JEFF:_ Texting you.

 _ANNIE:_ Cool.

 _JEFF:_ Still up to helping pack if you need.

 _ANNIE:_ Are you trying to make up for last time? #AnniesMove

 _JEFF:_ No…? Would it help if I said yes, though?

 _ANNIE: _ What do you mean by ‘help’?

 _JEFF:_ Well, was I supposed to say yes?

 _ANNIE:_ You were supposed to say whatever you wanted to say.

And that’s when his stomach filled with butterflies. _Yeah, I was,_ he thought. He tapped his phone against his palm as he shook his head with a smirk. _I didn’t though, because then I’d hold you back because that’s the sort of thing I’d make you do…_ he lent back on his bed some more, sighing and the finally replying.

 _JEFF:_ Okay, well no, I’m not because I’m pretty sure I got my pay back.

 _ANNIE:_ Yeah, I’m pretty sure I still have that little clip saved on my phone.

 _JEFF:_ Please delete that.

 _JEFF:_ Please.

 _JEFF:_ I don’t want you to go away and still have that as a memory.

 _ANNIE:_ Nope, not deleting it. That’s exactly why – it’s a memory.

 _JEFF:_ A memory you don’t need to experience because you weren’t there!

 _ANNIE:_ Err… didn’t you just say something about ‘pay back’?

 _JEFF:_ If I come help you pack; will you delete it then?

 _ANNIE: _ Do you just want an excuse to come over here, or what?

 _Would it be really bad to reply with, yes?_ He thought, hovering over the letter ‘Y’ before retracting.

 _JEFF:_ No, I just really don’t want you to have that video on your phone.

 _ANNIE:_ Oh come on, the clip is like twenty seconds long.

 _JEFF:_ Twenty seconds too many.

 _ANNIE:_ *eye roll emoticon*

 _ANNIE:_ I need to finish packing! You are a distraction.

 _JEFF:_ Sorry…

 _ANNIE:_ Did I sound mad? I feel like sometime my texts come across differently to my usual self.

 _JEFF:_ You better start changing that then otherwise I won’t understand what you’re trying to say when you’re in DC.

 _ANNIE:_ I’m not that bad am I?

 _JEFF:_ Nope. You’re not bad at anything.

 _ANNIE:_ *eye roll emoticon*

 _JEFF:_  Err, does that not get a thank you?

 _ANNIE:_ Nope, because you’re still distracting me!!

 _JEFF:_  Okay, now you sound mad. I’m leaving – I swear.

 _ANNIE:_  Good. Now, go!

 _JEFF:_  If you reply to this text it means that you’re distracting yourself because I won’t reply either, so, don’t. Carry on packing.

* * *

After a couple of hours, Annie finally finished up the majority of her things, piling up two sets of boxes; one pile for DC and one pile to stay. She moved a couple of boxes from each pile, swapping and changing her mind when one pile looked bigger than the other. And then for some reason, she decided to get out her phone, take a picture and message Jeff. _For some reason._

 _ANNIE:_ [Picture attachment] Left is for DC, right is staying… should they both be even or what? I mean, the majority of the boxes have pillows and random bits and bobs but… okay now I’m rambling.

Jeff paused for a moment, looking down at his phone, squinting slightly to read the writing on the individual boxes… “Sentimental Bits and Bobs”, “Save Greendale Committee”, “Books” and “Stuffies” … he laughed at the last one, thinking it was cute how she still clung onto them.

 _JEFF:_  Which boxes are most important?

 _ANNIE:_ All of my things from Greendale, my picture frames, my clothes and err, my ‘stuffies’ *eye roll emoticon*

 _JEFF:_  :) Take them, leave the rest.

 _ANNIE:_  But what if I need something that I leave behind? What if

Annie stopped typing, thinking of whether she should have even have started typing that last bit.

 _ANNIE:_  Ignore the what if.

 _JEFF:_  Ignored.

Of course it wasn’t ignored, he knew exactly what she would have typed but she was staying optimistic by the looks of things, which was better than yesterday. _Baby steps_.

 _ANNIE:_  Think we’re going to Senor Kevin’s for lunch… do you want to come? :P

Jeff paused, reading over the question. He clenched his teeth, wondering what the right answer was. If it had been last week, he would have jumped to the opportunity but now he was hesitating, thinking over what was really the best scenario. If he went to lunch, would he even be able to speak to her? If he went to lunch, would Britta pick up on some kind of tension? If he didn’t go to lunch, would she be upset? If he didn’t go to lunch, what would he do all day again?

 _JEFF:_ I’m good.

 _ANNIE:_  You sure?

 _JEFF:_  I’ll only come if you want me to.

 _ANNIE:_  Why wouldn’t I want you to?

 _JEFF:_  Why would you want me to?

 _ANNIE:_ *eye roll emoticon*

 _ANNIE:_  Seriously, you can come. I want you to. Please?

 _JEFF:_ For Mi’lady.

Jeff typed without thinking but he had no reason to feel regretful because on the other end of the phone, Annie was smiling happily at her screen, glad that things still seemed okay after everything. So she picked herself up, started getting ready and took the rest of the day as it came. Because after all, what else could you do?

* * *

 

The group sat around a table at Senor Kevin’s, Annie opposite Britta and Abed opposite Jeff, only just fitting into the little booth that surrounded them. They all picked up their menus, tucking their heads into the list of Mexican food, the paper in their fingers smelling of delicious spices. Jeff however, hid his phone in the menu rather than his head, typing away discreetly to a certain somebody.

 _JEFF:_ You look nice :)

He decided that if he wanted _anything_ to happen between himself and Annie, he had to actually start putting himself out there, even if it was with those baby steps. So he sent a message across before actually deciding what to order, but he felt like a high schooler; waiting for Annie to read the message and reply, or just acknowledge that he’d thought that of her… like he had many times before.

Today though, she looked specifically nice even if she hadn’t made an extra special effort. Her hair was loosely tucked over one shoulder, covering part of the blouse that she’d worn a couple of times before at Greendale (it was the green one with a blue collar – he always liked it on her) and a pair of snug fitting jeans and some flats that he hadn’t really paid much attention to because why would he look at her feet when he could look at her beautiful face? And her eyes, he specifically liked looking at her eyes.

And then when the drinks arrived, she did look up. She looked up from her phone that was placed on the table, carefully shielding the screen from Britta and Abed’s view, and smiled sweetly back at him. He did too, believing that her cheeks had just turned a tiny bit pinker than they were before. She didn’t respond though; the smile was a thank you in itself.

* * *

 

After a lunch of trying to steer the conversation away from Annie and Abed’s departure, Jeff and Annie stood outside as Abed paid (he’d insisted) and as Britta used the bathroom. Jeff stood, his hands in his coat pockets, his eyes to the floor as Annie looked out onto the opposing street. They finally looked up and faced each other, wondering what to say. It was awkward, almost more awkward than things had ever been but it was only because they both had the same question in mind – _now what?_

“We should-.” Annie said, quickly being interrupted by Jeff himself.

“Yeah we-.”

“No but maybe if we-.”

“Do you want to-?” They both said in unison.

“Coffee?” Jeff asked, to which Annie laughed and nodded.

“We should probably wait for them.” Annie said, pointing behind her.

“Yeah… maybe they’d find it weird though? You know, just us?” Jeff asked hesitantly.

“Jeff, we’ve had coffee on our own before…” Annie reminded him, confused as to why he’d think anyone else would notice a change between them. Jeff nodded and scuffed the floor before Britta and Abed re-joined them.

“Jeff and I were just going to go and get coffee…” Annie said trying to hint that they wanted to go alone.

“Yeah well I have to get back to the bar anyway so I guess I’ll see you later. Abed?” Britta said turning to see what he would be up to.

“I should probably go home and get some things ready. You two can go ahead.” He smiled, waved and walked off in the same direction as Britta before turning a separate way.

Jeff turned and nodded in the direction of the street, waiting for Annie to catch up with him.

* * *

 

“Do you think you would actually ever become the Dean?” Annie asked, sipping her cold coffee concoction through a straw in a nearby coffee shop.

“Err, for me to become the Dean I would need Britta to become a shrink, and for you to start teaching at Greendale.” He said, sipping back his hot black coffee.

“So you’d only ever become the Dean if your perfect ‘pitch’ became reality?”

“I’d never become the Dean, because Craig will never be replaced. If he leaves, Greendale will get sold off by those guys on the board which in turn will have me out of a job too.”

“But what if the Dean _asked_ you to replace him? Then you’d turn it down?”

“I’d never become the Dean.” Jeff said, sitting back more in his chair, wondering where the conversation was going.

“Okay but I think you would. You _love_ Greendale even if you don’t admit it, so if it was a choice between Greendale closing down or you becoming Dean, you'd become the Dean.”

“I don’t love Greendale; I _tolerate_ Greendale; I’ve told you before.” Jeff added.

“Oh come on, you were the one who saved it! If you hadn’t have put those ridiculous headphone whatever-you-call-them’s on, Greendale would currently be taking orders of $5 sandwiches.” Annie said proudly, tilting her head. Jeff paused and stirred his coffee around. _Don’t tell her,_ Jeff thought. _Do tell her,_ he thought again. _Don’t tell her –_ his mind argued with itself.

“Jeff? Are you okay… you’ve gone a little quiet ever since I mentioned that…” Annie said, squinting her eyebrows down.

“What? Yeah, I’m fine. But it was mainly you who saved Greendale. You did all the hard work.” Jeff said, not looking directly at her. _It was you who saved Greendale – you’re the one who opened the door,_ he thought again, turning his head to the other side of the room.

“Well not really, it was joint effort. We all did it, right?” Annie said, trying to make sure he was definitely okay.

“Yeah.” Jeff nodded back at her, a closed-lip smile across his face.

“You know I’m not the only one leaving, right? Abed’s leaving too…” Annie attempted to divert his thoughts to somebody else, hoping it would make him feel slightly better about the whole situation.

“Yeah but I’m not worried about Abed like I’m worried about you.”

“You’re worried about me?” Annie said, poking her chin out slightly more than she’d meant to.

“No, I just… I’m not worried about Abed in the _same_ way I’m worried about you. I’m not worried, or concerned about whether he’s going to get swept off of his feet by some ridiculously good looking, cool FBI agent who gets to carry out a gun and skip queues with his little badge.” Jeff crossed his arms and spoke to her with a smile on his face.

“Err… first of all, why? Second of all, guns aren’t cool.” Annie said thinking about the time she’d faux-murdered him back in the study room all of that time ago.

“So what is cool in Annie Edison’s world of having a thing for older guys?” Jeff lent forward, raising his eyebrows questioningly, a smile still stuck across his mouth.

“Err… really Jeff? A _thing_ for older guys? Are you… flirting with me right now?” Annie asked, also leaning forward, her straw in her fingers. Jeff jolted back, biting his lip.

“What, no? But you can’t deny it.” He smirked to which he received a pair of rolling eyes in return.

“You really want to know what’s cool?” Annie asked, intrigued about his question.

“Yeah.” He nodded, his lips curling up.

“Fine… you’re cool if you don’t say I have a thing for older guys.” Annie sucked through the straw as Jeff gulped back at her statement.

“That’s me off the list.”

“Yup.” She nodded jokingly before speaking again.

“But no… I think you’re cool when you don’t care about being cool.”

“That’s err, also me off the list.” Jeff scratched the side of his head, gulping once again.

“Jeff, you don’t care about whether I think you’re cool; you care about whether I think you care about me.” She said reassuringly. It was true, he cared a _lot_ about that, but he didn’t realise it was that obvious.

“Do you think I care about you?” He asked nervously.

“I _know_ you care about me. You wouldn’t have said what you said the other night if you didn’t.” Jeff nodded slowly, another gulp running through his throat. He bit his lip and looked away.

“No, I would have said it a long time ago.” He returned his eyes to her as his words stopped, her eyes turning into softer ones, her heart melting slightly inside.

A moment passed of quiet between them, just the noise of the coffee shop’s doorbell pinging as a new customer arrived.  Jeff clenched down on his teeth, unsure as to whether he’d said the wrong thing, so he asked, just in case.

“Did I say something wrong or…?” Jeff poked his tongue to the side of his mouth awaiting a response.

“Nope, it’s just… I’m leaving Jeff… and I don’t want either one of us to say something that screws whatever up and… if I don’t come back, then… let’s just forget about it okay? I know you care about me and that’s all that matters. You don’t need to worry, _I promise.”_ Annie said reassuringly, her voice breaking slightly as she thought of what to say.

Jeff nodded and bit his lip again. _How can I not worry?_


	3. Saturday

Nothing really happened on Friday – they’d hugged goodbye after having coffee, Annie had (perhaps slightly) sulked home and Jeff had returned to his humble abode too, swishing a glass of scotch around in his hand as the TV flickered away with nonsense. Funnily enough though, the one known for the most nonsense around Greendale, Abed, had a feeling he knew what was going on when Annie had returned home alone.

So he pretended to pop to the shops for some travel essentials and to see what new DVD releases there were before actually walking all the way to Jeff’s apartment, only to see him sat outside on the steps with his gym gear on once again.

“Abed?” Jeff said, looking up at Abed who was in his usual hoodie and jeans combination.

“Hey Jeff. Mind if I join you?” Jeff nodded, his bottom lip sticking out in slight confusion. 

“Sure.” Jeff lent back on to the steps behind him, scratching his outstretched neck with one hand.

“I think I know what’s going on.” Jeff pulled a confused face.

“Err… do you mind telling me because I’m not sure we’re on the same page.” Jeff sat up, bending is knees and balancing his hands on them.

“You have feelings for Annie.”

Jeff gulped, looking up onto the street outside of his apartment. He never usually sat there at the risk of getting stopped by the Dean but for some reason he’d decided to just sit for a moment.

“I’m going to take that as you do because you’ve yet to deny _or_ answer me.” Abed added.

Another pause with another gulp and more teeth clenching from Jeff.

“And now you’re still ignoring me so I’m taking it as a definite yes.”

Jeff thought about it – how right Abed actually was, and how weird it was how he knew. He then realised there was literally no harm in answering to Abed’s statement because one, he’d promised before that he’d never bring up their personal conversations elsewhere, and two, Abed was the least judgemental person there ever was. So he gulped, clenched his teeth some more, and spoke.

“She’s leaving.” Is all he could make out.

“I always knew there was something there between you… I was going to stop using TV to put perspective on things but it really is like in TV. There’s always this couple that never actually get together and it drives the fandoms insane, so the writers keep coming up with excuses; in this case, with you and Annie, it would be that she’s too young, or that she has too much of her life ahead of her, but I don’t think that’s a valid excuse. Even if she is leaving, that doesn’t mean there is no possibility of the two of you working something out.

I’m not saying I’m the perfect person to talk to, because obviously I’m not, I’m not really a relationship kind of guy, but I know that nowadays there’s this thing called the internet and it has this technology called webcam and these websites and applications called social media. So you know, it’s not like there’s no end. But in TV, there is – the only thing you have is imagination, whereas here, in real life, you can actually go out and change things. You can go out and make things right with Annie.

I don’t really know how she feels or in fact, how you feel, but I know that you both have something there,” Abed said, pointing to his heart, “that isn’t going away anytime soon.”

Jeff breathed in heavily, stretching his neck back slightly, completely puzzled at the fact that he was genuinely agreeing with every word that Abed had just said. There was nothing invalid or wrong about any of his points. He laughed a bit under his breath as Abed spoke about social media and internet, as if he was trying a touch of sarcasm to make Jeff understand things a bit more clearly.

“So… what do _you_ think I should do?” Jeff said, turning his head a little so Abed was more in his eye line.

“I’m not here to tell you that. I’m here to tell you that you’re not wrong for letting her go or whatever, but you’re also not right for just ignoring whatever’s going on. I’m also not saying that things will necessarily work out, especially if it were in TV, the writers would also say that you two are star-crossed and are purely attracted to each other physically and because of your opposite personalities, but that’s not for me to decide. That’s for you and Annie to decide, because you’re here, in reality, where you can change things.” Abed, got up, shuffled his messenger bag across his chest and left.

And just like that, Jeff was once again alone, on the steps of his apartment, wondering what on earth had just happened and wondering what on earth he was going to do now that even Abed knew the truth. 


	4. Sunday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Get Spotify or YouTube ready with the song "Annie's Song" so you can press play at the perfect moment during this chapter... (you'll see!)

Annie was now counting down the days, realising that in just _three_ days she’d be leaving for DC and leaving Greendale behind, but she reminded herself that it was just for the summer, she’d be sure to come back even if it was just for a couple of weeks and like Abed had said to Jeff, there was all sorts of ways that the group could still use to communicate. She often messaged Shirley for updates to stay in her life, so it was no different really.

Oh accept… it sort of was, because Jeff had finally admitted his feelings for her and now she was leaving him behind. As she lay on her bed in her pretty much empty room, she thought back to their coffee ‘date’ and how he’d spoken about letting her no a long time ago. Which means, that he _had_ felt feelings for all that time and that he _must_ have been lying when he’d said it was just ‘platonic shoulder holding’.

She needed to talk to him, to know that it was going to be okay before she left; to know that it was going to be okay _after_ she left. So she excused herself to go on a walk to Abed and Britta, grabbed her bag and stepped out onto the sidewalk, following the usual signs to his apartment.

After a good ten minutes, she was outside his place. She inhaled and exhaled, smoothed down her sweater and knocked her fist against the door. Jeff walked over from the couch, stretching a little as he did, expecting it to be the Dean but _hoping_ it would be her. He peeled back the door and to his hopes were answered. Jeff tried to resist a beaming smile, but of course his face said it all.

“Hey.” He said calmly, looking down at her little casual self.

“Can I come in?” She said, gesturing towards his living room.

“Err, yeah.” He pulled the door wider, standing back for her to walk in. Jeff closed the door, turning around and sliding his hands into his back pockets.

“You okay?” He said as usual, because that was most important to him, knowing that she was just fine, or happy, or anything other than _not_.

“Yeah… just, I don’t know… two days and all!” She said, moving her hands around in the air. Jeff walked over and clenched his teeth in a nod.

“Do you want to… I...?” Jeff said, also gesturing his hands around the room, waving to certain things like the TV and the kitchen.

“I’m happy to just sit.” Annie said confidently, walking over and placing herself down on the couch, her knees and feet bent under her. Jeff proceeded to join her, sitting on an opposite arm chair. He sat down and held his hands between his legs, looking over at her slightly.

“It’s just weird, you know, leaving all of a sudden. I know it’s only for summer, for now, but… and I did have everything planned out in my head already. I applied for it a couple of months back so… but, I guess… yeah, it’s just weird.” Annie admitted, trying to start a conversation but of course the only topic was her leaving.

“You did?” Jeff sat forward a tiny bit, surprised she hadn’t mentioned it.

“Yeah, well, I didn’t really want to say anything about it just in case nothing happened. I mentioned it to Abed because he’d also mentioned something about a job so… yeah.” Annie nodded, her eyes in a daze, staring at Jeff’s coffee table.

“Oh… well, why just in case? It’s pretty obvious you’d get it.” Jeff was sat back now, leaning his head on one hand, looking towards her as she played with a piece of hair.

“Jeff… I go to Greendale. I’m good for Greendale standards…” Annie said, shutting down his support.

“No… you’re good for everything. Seriously, you’re… you have a talent.” Annie rolled her eyes as she sat up some more, her hands picking at the ends of her sweater sleeves.

“Well for next time, I probably would have liked some warning… plus, you know, everyone would have been supportive if you didn’t get it which once again – very unlikely.” Jeff said, looking over at her with a smile.

“I could really do with a drink.” Annie said, looking over at Jeff with pleading eyes. Jeff nodded, standing up and walking over to the kitchen where he smiled a little to himself and poured out whatever he could find that _wasn’t_ scotch for her, but when she came over stretching her hands out and peering over at his selection of alcoholic beverages, he was surprised to see her pulling out a bottle.

“Err… are you sure you want that?” He said looking down at her with an amused face. She shrugged her face and slid the bottle to him, leaning back on the counter and awaiting the small glass of whatever she’d picked out. He stopped and watched her, the glass up to her lips, as she sipped the tiniest drop back. Suddenly her face scrunched up and for him, it was the most adorable thing she’d ever done.

“How do you drink that?!” Annie said, wiping her lip and looking through the glass at the liquid and ice.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Jeff held up his own glass to clink it with hers, before sipping it back with no absurd reaction whatsoever.

“You’re still going to drink that?” She stood herself up and held out the glass in front of her, before walking to Jeff’s sink and pouring it down the plug hole.

“Nope.” Jeff winced slightly at the fact that she’d just wasted a fairly pricey scotch but didn’t mention it.

“Do you want something else?” He said, spinning around with a bottle of white wine in hand.

“Hmm, fine.” She said, shrugging.

He passed her glass and poured it out as she held it in her hand, before walking over to the couch and settling the bottle down alongside his scotch. He sat down and noticed her bending over the stereo, plugging in her phone and pressing play on a random shuffle playlist. Jeff scratched the back of his head, unsure what the moment in time really meant – _drinks, music, just the two of them…_

But that’s when it all started fading out, all of the awkwardness, all of the tension and uncertainty. They just talked, and thought about the old times, and good memories, and bad ones. They laughed and smiled and maybe it was the alcohol they were consuming rather quickly, or maybe it was just the fact that they were finally just enjoying each other’s company, but it just felt _right_. Music blended into conversations, Annie sang a few lines here and there, teasing Jeff to do the same. They sat at opposite ends of the couch, their glasses in hand.

And then _the_ song that Jeff despised came on, and with her tipsiness, Annie got up and shuffled to it, making him cringe with embarrassment.

“Roxannne…” the stereo played out, making Jeff cover his face, soon uncovering it when Annie’s hand pulled on his. He looked up at her and smiled, still in a slightly cringey way, not believing that he was now standing and _sort of_ dancing to the song.

Jeff almost tumbled to the floor, steadying himself on Annie who just laughed back. They ended up on the floor, their legs stretched out opposite each other, one crossed, just like when Troy had told the ghost story about Annie’s pen. They smiled at each other and then another familiar song came on, but Jeff couldn’t put a pin on it until the voice started singing.

“Oh no, you have a recording of this?” Jeff said.

“Oh god… I do. Sorry, I’ll turn it off.” Annie went to get up but Jeff stopped her before she could.

“Nah, leave it on, it’s funny.” He said, laughing a little. Annie rolled her eyes again and pulled out her tongue when all of a sudden Jeff was mimicking Vaughn’s voice to ‘Annie’s Song’.

“…but then the words get frozen, in my mouth like eskimos… I like your nose.” He sung stupidly, leaning back against the wall, stretching his head up as if he were singling passionately. Annie rolled her eyes again, cringing at the fact that Vaughn had _actually_ written a song about her.

“Ooooooooh… Annie…” Jeff trailed, getting up and dancing stupidly again, his scotch glass in one hand. Annie stood up too, walking over to the stereo to end the embarrassment. But then Jeff was in front of her, and they were only just a few centimetres from their bodies being pushed together, but then the music faded out slightly into a melancholier tune. All Jeff had wanted to do before that moment was kiss her, even if it was wrong, even if it was just yet another mistake of his, he just wanted to kiss her because _finally_ , _finally,_ they were just being _together_.

And then all hope faded when Annie’s lips opened to speak…. or perhaps it hadn’t…

“You have to get the right timing.” She said as the music picked up again, and there it was, the opening. He wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her in, their lips meeting almost immediately. Jeff span her around, just like Vaughn had done, as they kissed, his stomach filled with butterflies and he felt so stupid, but it felt _so right._

And when the music stopped and Annie dropped down to the floor, all either of them could say was…

“We just kissed to one of your ex-boyfriend’s songs.”

“Yeah.”


	5. Monday

Annie woke up, the smell of coffee drifting through… _Jeff’s apartment?_ Annie thought. After their kiss and the whole bottle of white wine she’d consumed, she’d fallen down onto the sofa and drifted off, leaving Jeff to fall asleep as a very smitten man. He woke up early before his alarm (that was still set even though school was out for the summer), and made breakfast for her to wake up to, remembering how happy he’d felt when he’d lifted her off the ground and held her in his arms.

Annie rubbed her eyes and stood up, brushing her hair down slightly, turning around and sending a short smile to Jeff. Although they _had_ kissed again, they were both being rather careful around each other, not really saying much but when their fingers brushed against each other as Jeff passed Annie her coffee, they both just laughed in awkwardness realising they couldn’t really ignore what happened.

“We kissed… right?” Annie asked, making sure she hadn’t imagined things with her hungover brain.

“Err… _yeah…_ ” Jeff answered, unsure what answer she was hoping for.

“To Vaughn’s song…?” Annie asked again, sipping at her coffee as they sat on the couch together.

“ _Yeah…_ that was weird.” Jeff said, shaking his head a little at the thought.

“Well… it was… but it wasn’t, right?” Annie said, looking up at Jeff with a furrowed brow.

“Right.” Jeff looked down and smiled a little, his hot coffee steaming up between his hands. Annie sighed, swinging her legs up and round, tucking her head onto Jeff’s chest. He looked down surprised, but didn’t complain, _at all._ He carefully lent his cheek back on her hair, trying to steady his breathing in case she could hear his heart pounding too loudly.

“And now I’m leaving… tomorrow.” Annie said, her eyes fixated on a spot on the apartment’s floor.

“But there’s err, this thing called the internet and it has this technology called webcam and these websites and applications called social media…” Jeff quoted Abed, sounding a little weird to Annie, so she tilted her head upwards and pulled a confused face.

“Abed.”

“You spoke to Abed?” She said, her voice raising to a squeak in shock.

“Well, Abed spoke to me.” _Oh,_ she thought.

Jeff lent his head back as she settled back down, realising that this is what he would be letting go of too; moments like this when she was just perfectly happy cuddled up between his arm. He started to stroke her hair a little, resting his cheek back down. _So this is what it feels like,_ he thought. 


	6. Tuesday

Annie left Jeff’s soon after on Monday, pecking him on the cheek when she said goodbye and making up an excuse that she’d got too tired to walk home so Jeff had let her rest on the couch, but of course Abed shot her a pair of raised eyebrows to which she shot him rolled eyes back. Britta was left puzzled, but she didn’t seem to care. The new day had started off pretty manic already because Abed had only really just started packing the night before.

“Abed, Jeff’s going to pick us up for the airport by the way.” Annie remembered, calling from her bedroom. Abed nodded, realising that was understandable.

As the day faded out, they’re suitcases piled up by the door and all there was to do was wait. Her mind was only on one thing though – saying goodbye to Jeff, _again._ They didn’t really talk much after Sunday night, as to what was going to happen, but they just agreed that they’d _see_ , because after all, what else can you do when one person is a flight away and has two extra hours to their time zone?

 _ANNIE:_ Ready and waiting :)

 _JEFF:_  Err, shouldn’t that be an unhappy face? :(

 _ANNIE:_  Shh :(

 _JEFF:_ Be there in five.

And so he was. He stood by the door as Britta said her goodbyes, a tear in her eye as she hugged Abed and Annie together.

“You’ll be great Abed, you too Annie. We’re going to miss you guys.” Britta said, piercing her lips together.

“Thanks Britta. Sorry you had to sleep on a couch for so long but, you can have the choice of two beds now… or you can turn my room back into a Dreamatorium but, I doubt you’d do that, because who else would but me?” Abed rambled on, a slight knot forming in his throat. Annie let out a slight ‘aww’, rubbing his arm.

“Thanks too Britta, I mean it. We’ll speak soon though.” Annie tilted her head, pulling her duffel bag over her shoulder, before walking over to the door. Jeff held a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently as Abed joined them. Abed shot him a knowing smile, before walking out in front of them both.

“See you at the bar?” Britta called to Jeff, who turned and nodded. And that was that, the door clicked shut and they were in Jeff’s car; Annie in the front, Abed watching on at the two of them as they drove away. Jeff looked over to Annie who was now leaning on the window, once again not mentioning something that would usually drive him crazy, the fact that she was smearing the window slightly. He looked in the mirror too, to check on Abed who was sitting comfortably on his own.

And then about twenty minutes later, after a few comments about travel and plans for when they arrived at their separate destinations, Jeff was stepping out of the car, throwing Abed his bag, kissing Annie on the cheek and watching them leave.

For Season 6.  
For Season 7, who knows? It was out of their hands.


End file.
